Mission statement and principles of the German Red Cross

People in need

Wherever people are suffering we offer protection and help.

Impartial assistance

All those in need have equal rights to help irrespective of nationality, race, religion, gender, social status or political belief. We use all available means to provide relief - dependent only upon the degree of need and urgency. Our voluntary aid is intended to re-establish the self-help capacity of those in need.

Impartiality in the name of humanity

We regard ourselves exclusively as helpers and advocates of those in need and refrain at all times from participating in political, racist or religious conflicts. We are not, however, prepared to accept inhumanity and will therefore raise our voices against their root causes as the need arises.

People in the Red Cross

We can only fulfil our role if we convince people to join us in our tasks, in particular on the basis of unpaid voluntary work. It is they who bear the brunt of our activities, in the form of committed, qualified and humanitarian volunteers but also to an equal extent by full time employees whose relationship to one another is characterised by equality and mutual trust.

Our services

We offer all those services as deemed necessary to fulfil our task. We aspire to satisfying the highest standards both in terms of quantity and quality. We can only undertake tasks if we have sufficient technical know-how and funding.

Our strengths

We are the National Red Cross Society of the Federal Republic of Germany. We stand for a globally effective and common cause with a uniform appearance and structures. The federalist structure of our association gives us the advantages of flexibility and fast, coordinated action. It is only by bundling our experience and the allied use of our personal and material means that we can secure and ensure our effectiveness

Our relationship to others

In order to fulfil our tasks we cooperate with all institutions and organisations within state and society which can help us in fulfilling our independently set tasks and goals or can be of help or have similar goals. In all that we do, we seek to maintain our independence. We accept competition in that we always seek to improve both the quality of our help and its economic viability.